You Have to Give to Get
by CanadianKittyAngel
Summary: Petra wasn't prepared for Nanaba to die, with feelings unspoken, but she tells her as she dies, but her current resolve was to just get away. Now broken, all she needs is some comfort; but who is to give that? PetraNa beginning, ending in Rivetra comfort. WARNING: Character Death. (If you couldn't tell...)


_**-(A/N: I feel pretty evil after writing this. Yeah... So, it's PetraNa, ending with Rivetra.)-**_

Nothing could have gotten to Petra faster than what she saw. Nothing could have broken her heart so quickly, as witnessing the moment. Had it been anyone else she saw die, it wouldn't have been so painful to her, as it was seeing Nanaba die in that way. In fact, all she could do was choke on her sobs.

The orange blonde dropped off the 3DMG, stumbling, and falling to her knees next to Nanaba's mangled body, her short blond hair almost entirely red from her own blood, and it was obvious her ribs broke, pushing out from the back, by the odd angle of her body, and blood seeping there. "N-Nanaba!" Petra's voice was barely a whimper, tears streamed down her cheeks.

When the tall blonde's body convulsed with a few gasps, and sputters, Petra shook, covering her mouth with her hand. However, she froze when she heard Nanaba get out weakly, desperate, "Petra?" The orange blonde dipped down closer, "N-Nanaba? I-I'm-" She stopped when the woman lips opened to get something else out, however pained and weak. "P-Petra… G-Get a-away f-from… H-Here… Pl-please…" The blonde shuddered, sputtering a thin splay of blood into the air, much of it hitting the orange blonde, only furthering her hurt.

"I-I… N-Nanaba… I…" The smaller woman raised her arm and rubbed her arm across her eyes to dry them, only to be wetted again by tears. The taller blonde shuddered again, but didn't sputter, the blood around her thickening. "P-please Petra…" The orange blonde whimpered, and forced out in a pained whisper, "Nanaba I love you!" The blonde seemed to relax slightly, and took a slow, broken breath, proving the fact her ribs went through her lungs. "I… L-love you too… Petra…" The blonde convulsed again, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks, "Petra… Pl-please go… G-Get back…"

Petra's heart was already broken at this point, but she decided to do one thing, for Nanaba, and that was live. Before she did, however, while crying, she leaned over, and softly kissed Nanaba's bloodied lips, feeling a gentle force push back in reciprocation, she pulled back, and got out a choked whisper of, "I love you…" She stood up slowly, her knees shaking, and watched the blonde let her grip on life slip, body going limp, and eyes losing, almost content.

A soft thud from a distance brought Petra's senses back, and she leaned down, managing to wrangle Nanaba's cloak off, and keep it on her as she launched off, using more gas than necessary to find Levi and the rest of her squad, images of Nanaba flashing in her mind. Just saying her feelings was a relief, but it also shattered her, because now she knew it was mutual, but Nanaba was gone.

"Petra?"

Jumping slightly, she looked in the direction of the voice to see Levi, "Sorry corporal… Are we retreating?" The older male looked at her calmly, and looked ahead, speeding up slightly to lead, "You didn't see the flare?" Petra swallowed, and followed, a round of guilt hitting her, "No Corporal, I didn't."

A breaking silence fell over the two, but Levi did speak again when leading people back.

Petra, on the other hand, didn't speak another word, or even raise her head when addressed.

Almost as soon as they made it back to the Survey Corps base, Levi had enough of Petra's silence, and distant mood. "Petra, I need to talk to you." The orange blonde finally lifted her head, revealing the tears staining her cheeks. Levi's calm faltered at the sight, and the moment everyone was gone, he sat next to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Petra… What happened?"

For once, his voice was gentle, and much more concerned, not hiding everything he felt. Petra took a strained breath, and rubbed her eyes softly, attempting to explain through a stutter, "N-N-Nanaba… D-Died…" She swallowed the growing lump in her throat, closing her eyes to finish getting it out, "Sh-She l-loved me too…" She sniffled, and held Nanaba's cloak close to her chest, biting back her tears.

When Levi's hand softly moved to her other shoulder, and pulled her into a gentle hug, quiet, not saying anything more than, "Let it out Petra. It's okay." All the orange blonde could do was just that, she let it out, and cried in his arms. Several minutes passed by the time she calmed, but Levi didn't push her away, he continued to hold her, and softly explained, "Petra, I care about you, much more than you think…" She quieted, and stilled in his arms, letting him continue, but when he didn't, she closed her eyes. "Corporal, you… You know I look up to you… I-I care…"

"Petra, I know. I will love you, but I can't be your lover."

"I-I know, for humanities strongest to-"

"No, a lover is a promise to be there every day. I can't make that promise."

"…"

"We both know we could die any day."

Petra sniffled, and finally returned the hug, hiding her face in his shoulder, trying not to cry again. "Petra, I know it's soon. You just lost Nanaba, but… You need your spirit." Soft shakes from silent tears were his answer, as Petra held him close to herself, but she still gripped the cloak in one hand.

The older male sighed, and stood up awkwardly holding her in his arms. "You can stay with me tonight." Petra just sniffled, unable to properly answer, and let him carry her. After a moment, she did manage, "Th-thank you c-corporal…" The small male sighed, and continued to carry her towards his room, responding with a gentle, "Just call me Levi."

The orange blonde sniffed softly, and gripped the back of his cloak weakly to stay up, but accepted what he said with, "Thank you… Levi." Holding her close, Levi felt a rush of relief, as much as Petra may have, and walked on. For all his regrets, this made him feel much better.

For Petra, it was a relief, that she hadn't lost everyone she loved, but now had Levi.

Furthermore, Levi didn't hesitate to comfort her late into the night, and into her sleep. Holding her close, and whispering anything he could to comfort the orange blonde. To get the determined Petra back, he would do this for a long time, knowing she would do the same for him when she recovered.


End file.
